Starch ing-machine



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. C. POLAND. STARGHING MACHINE.

No. 485,980. Patented Nov. 8, 1892.

Illlllmm il" A (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. C. POLAND; STARGHING MACHINE.

ANo. 485,980. Patented Nov. 8, 1892'.

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(No Model.) 8 Sheets--Sheet 3. `J. C. POLAND. STARCIEIIIHr MACHINE. No. 485,980. Patented Nov. 8, 1892.

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JOHN O. POLAND, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

sTARCHlNc-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 485,980, dated November 8, 1892.

Application filed March 26, 1890. Serial No. 345,358. (No model.)

Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Starching-Machines,

of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide means for rapidly and thoroughly forcing starch into the fibers and meshes of shirtbosoms and other articles to be starched, and, further, to provide a simple and effective machine for starching shirt-bosoms, adapted to be set in operation by an attendant and thereafter to continne'in operation without attention until the operator desires to stop the operation, so that the operator, after placing a shirt-bosom in position in the machine and adjusting the same, can, while the bosom is being starched, attend to other matters, such as the preparation of another shirt-bosom for the machine.

To these ends the invention consists in the improvements which I will now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure l represents .a front elevation of a starching-machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents an end elevation of the same. Fig. 3 represents a similar elevation showing the machine stopped. Fig. 3a represents a perspective Fig. 4 represents an enlarged section on line 44of Fig.

l2. Fig. 5 represents a similar section ot' a modification showing the starch-box as having a ribbed bottom. Fig. 6 representsa sectional view showing another modification.

The same letters and figures of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In the drawings, a represents the supporting-frame, on which is mounted a box or casing b, which is open at its top and is provided with a vertically-movable side piece 2, which slides in vertical guides in the end pieces ot'- the casing, said side piece being adapted to be raised, as hereinafter described, to permit the insertion of a shirt-bosom into the casing under said side piece, the latter acting to hold the shirt-bosom in place in the casing and to prevent the starch from coming in contact with the other parts of the shirt, as presently described.

c, Figs. l and 4, representsaroeking starchbox adapted tc be placed in the casing b, so that its bottom, which is preferably curved, may rest upon the shirt-bosom placed in said casing. The bottom' of the starch-box is provided With numerous perforations d for the passage of the starch from the interior of `the box to the fabric on which it rests.

To the starch-box c is attached a yoke e, the upper portion of which is pivotally connected with one end of a connecting-mdf, the other end of which is pivoted to one arm of a bellcrank lever g. Said lever g is pivoted at h to a bracket e' on the frame a, and its other arm extends inwardly under the casingb and is there connected by a rod or pitmang` with a wrist-pin 7c, ecccntrically affixed to a disk m on the driving-shaft u, the latter being journaled in bearings at the lower portion of the frame a. The shaft n is provided with a fast-pulley o, on which runs the driving-belt p, which imparts motion to the shaft and causes it, through the disk m, wrist-pin 7a, connecting-rodi, bell-crank lever g, and conmeeting-rod f, to rock the starch-box in the casing b, and thus cause the curved bottom ofsaid starch-box to act with a rolling pressure upon the shirt placed between it and the bottom of the casing.

The starch in the box c oozes through the holes d and is spread upon the shirt-bosom by t-he rocking-motion action of the box-bottom, the starch being at the same time forced into Vthe meshes of the fabric and thoroughly in- -corporated therein bya sufficient continuance of said rocking motion, the bottom of the box being rigid and acting percnssively on the goods when the box is rocked.

q represents a lever, which is pivoted at r to a standard s, affixed to the frame a and projecting above the casing b. One end of said lever is connected by a chain a or other suitable connecting means with the yoke e on the starch-box, so that by a' movement of said lever, which will raise the said end,the starchbox will be raised from the fabric on which it bears in the casing I), thus permitting the removal of said fabric. The lever q is connected by a rod t with a foot-leveror treadle u, which is pivoted at 1v to an arm orbracket a: on the frame a.. The forward end of the treadle u is provided with a foot-piece u',

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which is formed to be engaged and held in a depressed position by a latch fu, said latch being pivoted to a cross-bar y, attached to the frame a.. When the latch c is engaged with the foot-piece u', as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the treadle is held thereby against the stress of a spring e', which is arranged to normally pull down the rear end of the-lever q, and thus raise the forward end of said lever with the starch-box c. The latch c therefore prevents the action of said spring and holds the lever q in position to permit the starch-box to rest upon the shirt-bosom or other article inserted in the casing l).

c represents a belt-shipper, which is tted to slide in guides on a bracket b', attached to the frame a, said shipper being provided with pins d d or other suitable devices, whereby it is enabled to engage the belt p and move the same from the fast pulley 0 onto a loose pulley o', or reverse this operation.

e represents a lever pivoted at. f to the frame a and connected at its lower end by a rod g wit-h the pivoted latch o. The lever e is provided with a slot h', which receives a pin i on the belt-shipper c', said shipper being thus engaged with the lever e', so that the oscillating movements of said lever, caused by the movements of the latch o, as presently described, will move the shipper horizontally. The lever e is arranged so that when the treadle u is in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the shipper will be held in position to engage the belt p with the fast pulley 0; but when the treadle is released by disconnecting the latch v from it the shipper will be moved to position to engage the belt with the loose pulley o.

A spring ne, connected at one end with the rod g and at the other end with the supporting-frame, normally holds the belt-shipper and the latch in the positions shown in Fig.

2, the belt-shipper being thus yieldingly held in position to keep the belt on the fast pulley, Y

while the latch o is yieldingly held in position to engage the treadle u, as described hereinafter.

The treadle u is provided with arms u u, to which are pivotally connected rods j j', which extend upwardly and pass through ears or lugs 7s on the sliding front piece 2 of the casing b. The rodsj are provided below said lugs with collars or enlargements m', which are arranged to strike the lugs 7a when the rods j are moved upwardly by the treadle when the latter is moving from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 3. The front piece 2 is therefore raised when the treadle fu, is released, so that the shirt within the casing b may be readily removed. When the treadle u is again depressed and held by the latch o, springs p', interposed between the upper sides of said lugs and nuts or collars q on the rods j', force the sliding side piece 2 downwardly with a yielding pressure upon the portions of the shirt or other garment that projects from the interior of the casing, so that the garment is clamped between the lower edge of the side piece 2 and the surface of a table r', whichvis attached to the frame a and is iiush with the bottom of the casing b, the portions of the garment that project from the casing being protected by the sliding side piece, so that starch cannot reach them from within the casing.

The operation of the machine above described is as follows: The treadle u being released and held by the spring z in the position shown in Fig. 3 and the belt-shipper being held in its inoperative position bythe engagement of the latch v3 with the rod g, so that the belt is on the loose pulley and the starch-box at rest., the operator inserts the bosom portion of a shirt under the raised side piece 2 of the casing, leaving the portion to be starched upon the bottom of the casing. He then depresses the treadle u, and thus permits the starch-box to bear on the bosom on the bottom of the casing and also depresses the sliding side piece 2, causing it to bear on the projecting portion of the shirt. The depressed end of the treadleis locked in the potion shown in Fig. 2 by means of the latch c, the latter being forced forward by the spring c2, which at the same time moves the beltshipper to position to engage the belt with the fast pulley, and thus impart the rocking motion to the starch-box. It should be here stated that when the latch o is pressed back by the operator to release the treadle and shift the belt to the loose pulley, as shown in Fig. 3, said latch is prevented from returning to the position shown in Fig. 2 by meansl of a second latch o3, which is pivoted to a fixed ear or bracket c7, and engages a shoulder if* on the rod g when the latter is pressed back to the position shown in Fig. 3. The latch c3 has a projecting arm o5, which is located under the treadle u, as shown in Fig. 1, and is arranged to be depressed by the treadle fu, when the latter is being depressed, the latch o3 being thereby raised and disengaged from the rod g', so that the spring 'v2 is permitted to move the belt-shipper into position to engage the belt with the fast pulley and to engage the latch o with the depressed treadle. The machine is therefore setin operation, the starch-box being rocked by the described connections between it and the shaft n. The operator may now leave the machine untilthe starch has been suficiently worked into lthe shirt-bosom. Hence he is enabled to attend to other duties during the said operation, such as the preparation of another shirt for insertion in the casing. After the shirt has been sufliciently starched the operator by pushing back the latch o moves the belt-shipper into position to stop the rocking motion of the starch-box and at the same time releases the treadle, whereupon the spring a acts to shift the lever q and treadle u to the position shown in Fig. 3, and thereby raises the'sliding side piece 2 of the casing, so that the en,- tire shirt is released. It will be seen, therefore, that the depression of the treadle 'aper- IIO forms all the operation required tc set the machine'lin operation and secure the shirt in to release the shirt, permit its free removal,

and also to stop theoperation of the machine.

The machine is therefore adapted to be veryv easily and quickly controlled without the employment of skilled labor, the operator having only to depress the treadle and engage the'latch i; with it to perform one set of operations and push back the latch@ to perform the other set of operations.

a represents a starch-reservoir, which .is supported by a bracket b, attached to the frame c or to the casingb, said reservoir having a faucet c, which is arranged to deliver starch into the starch-box c.

I do not limit myself to the precise details of construction of many of the parts here shown, and may vary the same without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Av weight may be substituted for the spring z as the means for raising the starch-box, and a hand-lever may be substituted for the treadle Lt as the means for depressing the starch-box.

It will be seen that when the starch-box is depressed its flexible connection with the lever q is such that'the entire weight of the box bears on the shirt-bosom and acts to press the starch into the meshes of the bosom.

I may use the starch-box c4, the bottom of which is fiat, as shown in Fig. 6, instead of being curved; but I prefer the curved form, because it enables the line of pressure to progress along the shirt-bosom and operates without noise.

The starch-box shown in Fig. 6 may be rocked by the same means that are represented in Figs. l, 2, and 3 to rock thestarchbox shown in these figures.

Fig. 5 shows the bottom of the starch-box and the bottom of the casing ribbed or fluted, the casing being lettered b instead of b, as in the other figures, because its bottom is ribbed.

I claini- 1. In a starching-machine, the combination of a bed or support for the article to be starched, a starch-box adapted to rock on said bed, means, as a spring and connections between ihe same and the starch-box, whereby the latter is normally raised above the bed, a lever connected with the starch-box by suitable intermediate devices and adapted to be moved into position to prevent the action of the box-raising spring, and thereby permit the starch-box to rest on the bed, and a latch or detent whereby the lever may be held in said position, as set forth.

2. In a starching-machine, the combination of a bed or support for the article to be starched, a starch-box adapted to rock on said bed, means, as a spring and connections between the same and the starch-box, whereby the latter is normally raised above the bed, a

lever connected with the starch-box by suitable intermediate'devices and adapted to be moved into position to prevent the action of the box-raising spring, and thereby permit the starch-box to rest on the bed, a latch or detent whereby the lever may be held in .said position, a driving-shaft journaled in bearings on the frame of the machine and provided with a fast pulley and with a loose pulley, connections between said shaft and the starchboX, whereby the latter is rocked by the rotation of the shaft, a belt-shipper engaged with the driving-belt,and connections between said shi pperand the treadle-engaginglatch,where bythe displacement of said latch is causedto shift the belt and stop the rocking motion of y the starch-box, as iset forth.

3. In a starching-machine, the combination of a support for the article to be starched, a starch-box over said support, having a perforated bottom, ineans for rocking said starchbox, a pivoted lever connected with the starchbox, a spring z, arranged to move said lever to raise the starch-box from the support, a treadle connected with said lever and adapted to move the latter in the direction required to depress the starch-box, and a detent whereby the treadle may be held against the force of the box-raising spring, as set forth.

4. In a starching-inachine, the combination of a casing b,a rocking starch-box therein having a perforated bottoni, a sliding side piece forming a part of said casing, a pivoted lever connected with the starch-box,a spring adapted to raise the starch-box through said lever, a treadle pivoted to the frame of the machine, a lock or detent for the treadle, and con nectioiis between the starch-box lever and the treadle and between the treadle and the sliding front piece, whereby the front piece is raised simultaneously with the starch-box by the action of the spring when the treadle is released, as set forth.

5. In a starching-machine, the combination of a support for the article to be starched, a starch-box having a perforated bottom adapted to rock on said support,a bell-crank lever g, pivoted to a fixed support and having one of its arms connected by rodfwith the rocking starch-box, and a driving-shaft having an eccentric wrist-pin la, connected by rod or pitman j with the other arm of said lever, asset forth.

6. The combination of a support for the article to be starched,a rocking starch-box having a perforated bottom, a lever pivoted to a fixed support and connected bya flexible connection with said starch-box, a spring arranged to move said lever in the direction required to cause the latter to raise the starchbox, a treadle pivoted to the frame of the machine, a rod t, connecting said treadle with the starch-boX-raising lever, a latch or detent adapted to hold the treadle against the stress of the starch-boX-raising spring, a drivingshaft journaled in bearings in the frame of the machine and provided with a fast pulley IOO and a loose pulley, connections between said shaft and the starch-box, whereby the latter 1s oscillated by the rotation of the shaft, a belt-shipper engaged with the belt that transmits motion to the driving-shaft, and connections between said belt-shipper and the latch or detent, whereby the belt-shipper is heldin position to engage the driving-belt with the fast pulley when the Lreadle is locked by its detent and is moved to engage the belt with the loose pulley by the displacement of said latch from its treadle-holding position, as set forth.

7. The combination of the casing b, having the sliding front piece 2, the table 1', extending,r outwardly from said casing, the starchbox, its raising-lever, and the lever-operating spring, the pivoted treadle connected with said lever, the rods jj, connected with said treadle and passing through lugs lo on the front piece 2 of the casing, the shoulders or enlargements m on the rods j below the lugs k', the shoulders or enlargements q' on said rods above said lugs, and springs interposed between the lugs and the shoulders q,where bya yielding downward pressure is imparted to the sliding piece 2 when the treadle is depressed, and a latch or detent to hold said lever in a depressed position, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 20th day of March, A. D. 1890.

JOI-IN C. POLAND.

VVtnesses:

JOHN J. MAHONEY, C. F. BROWN. 

